Gaia.

Written by I.M.
H-0
 It was pouring rain. With only my bike’s lamp to guide me through the wet dark mess
of the night, I was pedaling like my life depended on it to reach my destination, clinging on
the idea of soon being in a dry place. While the sky kept on pissing its cold guts on me, I
struggled to climb the gravel road alongside the mountain. On my left, I knew the barrier
made of rocks was between me and the void. My thighs were burning from the effort, my
breath had become a dying hiss a long time ago and my soaked hood kept on falling back on
my even more soaked forehead.
“-You just had to choose today, you drama queen.” I muttered to myself.
I had reached the point where I usually just drop the bike and finish the rest of the way on
foot, but I still wanted some light to guide me in the dark. I stepped off my ride and,
grabbing the handlebar and placing it on my right hip, I resumed my ascent, trying to ignore
the familiar feeling of uneasiness that came with going there at night. I was used to it by
then, but it didn’t make it any easier to voluntarily force myself up the path. The rain did
make me less reluctant though.
Eventually, after hoisting my engine up the stone stairs, I finally reached my goal. Well, I
couldn’t see much of it, but I knew this place better than anyone, and it was perfectly
mapped out in my memory.
I untied the weakening flashlight off of my bike, and I took a look around. Even under the
rain, I was just as hypnotized by what I was seeing as ever. The gigantic stone gate, that
looked like it was carved into the mountain, was standing strong against the elements.
Squirting my eyes, I directed my light beam at the words that had been engraved on the
monument for hundreds of years. It was a small text in Latin about the king that had ordered
the construction of this passage. I couldn’t read it given the rain, but I knew what was
written.
On my right, the sinuous path formed by the slit that had been made into the mountain
continued, disappearing into the darkness. On the left of the gate were carved a few stairs
that the unknowing eye wouldn’t have seen. That’s where I was going.
I left my bike by the gate and started climbing. Once up there, I was standing by the foot of a
rusty spiral staircase, leaning on the mountain side. A barred door locked with a chain was
supposed to keep me from going. But as you probably guessed it by now, it wasn’t my first
time.
Stepping over the metal fence between me and the void, I couldn’t make any mistake, or I
would fall 300 meters down the mountain. Silently, I turned around the staircase to get to a
spot where the railing was lower. Pulling myself up, I grabbed the railing and put my feet on
the lowest step I could reach for support. Going over the railing, I finally made it to the last
flight of stairs.
Right off the bat, I could feel something was different, but I told myself it was just the
bleakness of the night. Plus, I was wet to the bone and I knew that I was only a few meters
away from cover. Rushing up the stairs, I could see my flashlight getting even weaker, but it
was ok, I didn’t really need it. I rapidly engaged on the decayed footbridge on top of the
stairs and a few seconds later, I was in the cave.
Forming a gaping mouth in the flank of the mountain, the cave crossed it all the way
through, leaving me crushed under its imposing size. 25 meters away from the ground, 25
meters away from the top, I was but an insignificant insect ramping inside the womb of
mountain.
That was precisely what I loved about this place. Often, I would come here, longing for the
peace that this feeling of insignificance brought me. When the weather was milder, it was
the best place in the world to observe the stars. I would sit on the footbridge I had just
crossed, on the doorstep of the cave, and I would take in the immensity of the valley in front
of me. Not a soul in sight, I could enjoy the most beautiful sunsets as if the sun were setting
only for me, and watch the sky go from a kaleidoscope of pinks and gold to a deep,
promising blue, specked with an entire galaxy of luminous dots. During the best nights, I
could even see the milky way, its white streak cutting through the sky.
I think it’s funny that a lot of people admire the stars so much yet feel unwary at the thought
of being completely and utterly alone. To me, feeling this alone was a blessing, and I would
savor every second of it. Besides, I never actually felt lonely. The ancient mountain
resonating with the memories of a past long forgotten, the fascinating stars singing tempting
ballads of dangerous secrets, the careless wind whispering reassuring words to my ears,
every bit of nature around me had its own vivid, soothing presence.
But it was not this type of night. This night, the wind wasn’t whispering, it has howling, the
stars were nowhere in sight, and the mountain was roaring with echoes.
At first, I thought it was for that reason that I didn’t feel the same peace as usual. But then,
once inside the cave, the wind became a bit more distant, and I understood that echoes I
was hearing weren’t all due to natural causes.
Without a sound, all my senses in alert, I adventured further into the cavern.
H-3
 Everything was ready. The candles were lit, the weather was perfect, and they had
started chanting. He was very satisfied.
The hours passed though, and nothing happened. He started to think he might have been
wrong in his calculations, but then he stopped himself:
“-I couldn’t have been wrong” he thought, “all the signs were there and even the others
gathered without consultation. No, everything is perfect, I just need to be patient.”
While he silenced his impatience, he could feel his soul absorb the chant reverberating
hypnotically against the smooth stone walls. He could hear the wind blowing outside and the
rain smash against the flank of the mountain. Every so often, he could hear one of the others
collapse on the ground, but they would wake up after a few minutes and join them back. He
wouldn’t pass out, he was sure about that, it wasn’t his first time.
Midnight was approaching, and still nothing. Yet, something told him that the wait would
soon be over.
His attention drifted from time to time, that’s why he didn’t notice it in the beginning.
Besides, she was experienced, and her steps were just a light displacement of air drowned
into the ambient noises. But somewhere around 11:59, his eyes cracked open. He could feel
something, or someone, looking at them. He stopped his psalm, and turned around, only to
see a shadow run away towards the entrance.
He shouted something to the others, and they all rushed to the footbridge at once. But it
was too late, she was too fast, and she had already jumped from the top of the old staircase
– landing 10 meters below in perfect silence. Ignoring the bike and the flashlight that served
her masquerade, she abandoned both on the grass and disappeared into the murkiness of
the night.
Even if it was too late to catch her now, the ghost of a smile appeared on his lips.
He had found one.
It was only a matter of time now.